In its day, it was at the cutting edge of farm technology. But then, outmoded and overtaken by newer machines, it fell out of use and spent 20 years rusting in a storage shed.

Eastern Daily Press: 1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

Now, after an enthusiastic renovation, this potato harvester will be back in the fields at an event aiming to revive farming memories for one generation, while teaching lessons about Norfolk's rural heritage to another.

The Vulcan potato harvester will be one of the attractions at the 2017 Skeyton Michaelmas Trosh, being held on Tom Randell's farm at Skeyton, where the machine began its working life in 1975.

He said: 'This machine was stored in a shed for 20 years, so we decided to get it out to show people what happened on a farm 40 or 50 years ago.

'If you don't keep some of this old stuff it ends up in a scrap bin, and a lot of youngsters – not all of them, but a lot of them – like to see what happened in the past. And the generation that worked on these machines at the time like to see it going again. It brings back a lot of memories.'

Eastern Daily Press: 1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

The machine marks an interim stage in the evolution from manual potato picking to today's fully-automated lifting machinery, as it would still have required four people on board to separate stones from the crop as it was extracted from the earth. It was among the first machines to harvest two rows of potatoes at once.

'It was quite a big step forward when my father bought it,' said Mr Randell. 'We were growing 40-50 acres of potatoes, so to double up from single-row to two-row meant we were doing a lot more in a day, so it shortened the lifting season.'

Also celebrating the Vulcan's renaissance was 80-year-old salesman Michael Flood, who started working for the Randell family in North Walsham in 1952 – and originally sold the machine to Mr Randell's father Reggie in 1975 after becoming a salesman for Eastern Counties Farmers.

Mr Flood, who also lives in Skeyton, said: 'Back then, you were someone if you had a two-row machine, because a lot of people were still picking up by hand.

Eastern Daily Press: 1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. The team which helped bring the machine back to life, left to right, Mike Flood, Rick Barnes, Richard Culley, Graham Kirk, Michael Spinks, Henry Jones and Tom Randell. Picture : ANTONY KELLY1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. The team which helped bring the machine back to life, left to right, Mike Flood, Rick Barnes, Richard Culley, Graham Kirk, Michael Spinks, Henry Jones and Tom Randell. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

'This was probably the first one of these that I sold. I live to sell people the first machine. If something came out that was new, I came knocking on the door trying to sell it.'

He added: 'I still love dealing. I sold a tractor last week.'

ABOUT SKEYTON TROSH

The restored Vulcan potato harvester will take centre stage at the Skeyton Michaelmas Trosh, an annual celebration of rural heritage which also includes demonstrations of threshing and ploughing.

Eastern Daily Press: 1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

Trosh organiser Graham Kirk said: 'The aim of the Trosh is to experience country life how it used to be. We pride ourselves that this is the last outdoor event of the year, so it is also a meeting place for a lot of country-minded people.'

Mr Kirk said the Vulcan potato harvester heralded a 'new era' when it was introduced, as it was among the first two-row potato harvesters.

He thanked Henry Jones, a former agricultural engineer from Reepham, who carried out much of the restoration work.

'It was quite a revolutionary machine in its day,' he said. 'Most machines go to scrap when they come to the end of their working life, but this one has been saved.'

Eastern Daily Press: 1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY1970s Vulcan potato harvester which will be appearing at the Skeyton Trosh. Picture : ANTONY KELLY (Image: archant 2017)

The Skeyton Michaelmas Trosh runs from 10am until 4pm on Sunday at Brecks Farm, Skeyton, near Coltishall. Tickets cost £5. Proceeds go to Skeyton Church and Village Hall, and also to Buxton Sea Scouts.